Piccadilly Idea: new units for independent buisnesses, appartments and making use of the width for wider pavements

A Piccadilly of independent shops, big pavements, appartments and good connections over the Foss and in both directions on the Fishergate gyratory.

In the Open Brief we developed in the summer people want to be able to:

See and access the Foss from Piccadilly, preferably via routes which allow circulation

Develop small and independent businessesThey also wanted:

For development between Piccadilly and the Foss to face onto the Castle area and make the most of the views and connections.
This was also reflected in the responses to the intial Masterplan ideas in Novemember where support for small businesses and Piccadilly as a place for locals was often made.
One of the contributions to the Masterplan Ideas in November-December 2017.

The final masterplan idea expressed in this illustration shows how Piccadilly could be revitalised as a hub for city living and local businesses, with derelict buildings brought back into use around a plaza-style street. Castle Mills Car Park and 17-21 Piccadilly (after Spark York’s lease ends in June 2020) offer opportunities for ground floor commercial units with apartments above. Piccadilly would be connected to Castle Gateway’s new public spaces by a pedestrian-cycle bridge over the Foss, and a new junction at the south of the street will allow traffic to turn right into Piccadilly across the gyratory.

The council has also said: ‘Although we don’t own the other sites on Piccadilly (Banana Warehouse, 46 Piccadillly and Ryedale House) we’ll work with developers to invest in reducing the width of the road, improving the look of the street and bringing derelict sites back into use’.

As with all the ideas, this illustration just evokes one possible future. It’s a culmination of lots of conversations, debates and discussions but it is not the end. If the plan is passed by the council executive in April, we’ll be wanting to talk more, with any and all interested about how to develop Piccadilly.